Lewis Hamilton has opened up about his chances of winning the Formula 1 world championship this season. After finishing sixth at the Italian Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver feels his team has left it too late to fully support his title bid.
Monza proved to be a bitter moment for Hamilton. He was pushed into the gravel on the opening lap after contact with teammate Charles Leclerc at Turn 1. Leclerc then crashed heavily at Parabolica on lap two, triggering a red flag. Instead of closing the gap, Hamilton fell further behind Mercedes duo Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in the standings.
Antonelli now leads Russell by 66 points and Hamilton by 76, while Leclerc sits fifth, 112 points adrift. In the constructors' championship, Ferrari trails Mercedes by 122 points. It's far from ideal for the Italian squad, especially in front of their home crowd.
Hamilton has previously criticized Ferrari's execution, particularly regarding team orders when drivers are on different strategies. At the Dutch GP, he felt a podium was lost when the team hesitated to let Leclerc move aside while Hamilton was faster on fresher tires.
"From today, we've just lost so much ground to them (Mercedes)," Hamilton said at Monza. "It's far too late for those decisions to come. It's many, many weeks too late."
He also expressed disappointment with the weekend's outcome, especially for the tifosi. "I feel massively gutted for the tifosi who showed up for us today. Also for the guys back at the factory who are really giving it everything. Yesterday we didn't execute well, and I think the same today," he lamented.
Ferrari may not have had the fastest car at Monza, but poor execution made maximizing its potential even harder. Throughout qualifying, the team struggled to orchestrate slipstreams between drivers, and Hamilton nearly dropped out in Q2. In Q3, he left the pits late and found it difficult to get a tow from cars ahead.
With the season winding down, Hamilton's words underline that team support must come earlier. But that opportunity seems to have slipped away. All he can do now is give his best at every race and hope things fall into place.
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